Synopsis At about 0617 EDT on 12September 1994, as the self-unloading bulk carrier CHRISTOFFER OLDENDORFF was transiting Lake St.Pierre bound for Sorel, Quebec, with a load of anthracite, a complete power failure caused the main engine and the steering gear to stop operating. The vessel sheered and ran aground. No injuries or pollution were reported as a result of this occurrence. Factual Information Port of Registry Monrovia, Liberia Type Self-unloading bulk carrier Propulsion One diesel engine, 11,382kW driving a single fixed-pitch propeller. Just before coming abreast of buoy S77, the vessel experienced a complete power failure when the two auxiliary generators shut down. The main engine then stopped because its electric pumps had stopped working. An emergency generator came on line shortly thereafter, but it was not designed to provide power to the steering gear or the main engine pumps. The vessel sheered and ran aground on the edge of the channel, some four cables downstream of buoy S77. The CHRISTOFFER OLDENDORFF was able to manoeuvre free and refloat herself in the hours following the grounding.